The MediaLab report from Iscte, regarding 28 April-the day of the blackout on the Iberian Peninsula, reveals that 1,735 news articles were published, averaging 2.3 news items per minute. Some of these reports aimed to debunk the misinformation circulating on social media, although certain editorial choices, even if unintentional, contributed to confusion.
However, posts that replicated false narratives about the incident reached a much larger audience (173,000 views compared to 55,000 views for those debunking the misinformation).
MediaLab researchers also found that the first disinformation pieces suggesting it was a Russian attack emerged in Portugal and were later translated into multiple languages, including Russian.
The National Election Commission (CNE) and MediaLab, from ISCTE, in partnership with the Agência Lusa, are monitoring social networks to identify and measure the impact of disinformation during the May legislative campaign, with the initiative running until May 24. ISCTE, where MediaLab operates, and the Lusa agency are both part of the IBERIFIER consortium.
